North Ayrshire Council Criticised For Removal Of Sheltered Housing Wardens

A report has found that North Ayrshire Council did not consult sufficiently with pensioner residents of sheltered housing before deciding to withdraw wardens.

The local authority failed to take legal advice on the matter which would have given their decision a sound basis and residents say there was too little communication and insufficient planning ahead of the move.

The criticism of the council comes from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, who investigated complaints from a Mr C, says a report in the Irvine Herald.

Mr C had raised four concerns in response to the move to replace wardens with an “alert system”.

He also claimed that the response from the council to concerns raised by residents was inadequate.

In her findings, the Ombudsman, Professor Alice Brown upheld three of the four complaints.

She recommended that the council obtain appropriate legal advice before any future major decisions.

She also stated in future there should be “adequate and appropriate” communication and an opportunity for tenants to communicate with the council simply and effectively.

In her report, compiled after interviews with social work boss Bernadette Docherty, three councillors involved in the decision and tenants, Ms Brown said: “The tenants I spoke to were all very unhappy with the decision and the implementation process.

“They said they had not met the alert teams as promised. They were unsure whether to contact housing or social services staff about some issues. They have a number of outstanding concerns and issues about safety.”

The report continued: “The planning prior to the decision reached by the council focussed on costs rather than implementation.

“While I note the concerns about alerting staff to a potentially contentious issue prior to approval, given the decision affected a vulnerable group, I would have expected more detailed planning at an earlier stage to have taken place.”

On the issue of communication Ms Brown said: “It should be noted that the council have been publicly commended for their generally high standards on tenant participation and communication.

“The council was the first landlord to achieve accreditation by the Tenant Participation Advisory Service .

“It is notable that, while the tenants I spoke to were unhappy with the handling of the decision, they still commented that at times contact with the council was good.”

The report concludes: “The council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.”